- President Museveni has come out several times to say corruption is a weevil that should not be tolerated.
Image: Courtesy Photo
Corruption is becoming a very sophiscated vice, not only in Uganda but the globe over, and this calls for new techniques in fighting graft.
Director public prosecution Hon. Lady Judge Jane Frances Abodo says Corruption is one the hardest cases to investigate, these crimes are not committed by regular thieves but experts in their field, it is syndicated and technology has made it even harder and complicated for us.
The people committing such crimes are across the globe; they might be in Uganda but are working with others in America, Russia or South Africa to steal,or it can be one man causing havoc across the globe.
She said this while appearing on #TheCapitalGang ahead of the Anti-Corruption Week.
Most of the time corruption becomes a life style for these men and women, and because it is what they feed off they raise the bar higher, she adds.
We need to amend the law to make corruption a very risky venture. We want to be in position to prosecute property and not the person.Lady Judge Jane Frances Abodo
Plea bargain is a great way to weed out corruption, it is a viable option.
Plea bargain is when a person charged with a criminal offence negotiates with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.
She says currently the law is convictional based and we are pushing for it to be non-convictional based.
Non-conviction orders are a sentencing option for a Magistrate or Judge, when you are found guilty of a criminal offence, or you plead guilty to a criminal offence.
President Museveni has come out several times to say corruption is a weevil that should not be tolerated.
Plea bargain is a great way to weed out corruption, it is a viable option.
Plea bargain is when a person charged with a criminal offence negotiates with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.
She says currently the law is convictional based and we are pushing for it to be non-convictional based.
Non-conviction orders are a sentencing option for a Magistrate or Judge, when you are found guilty of a criminal offence, or you plead guilty to a criminal offence.
President Museveni has come out several times to say corruption is a weevil that should not be tolerated.
In 2018 President Yoweri Kaguta launched a new anti-corruption unit under the Office of the President to receive and act on complaints related to corruption. The unit head is Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema who is proud of the work the unit has done since its inception says;
- On a daily basis they receive averagely 300 complaints.
- Over the 3 years, they have received over 300,000 complaints.
- They have conclusively investigated 332 accused persons.
- 14 of these above have been convicted and sentenced to different prisons
- Over 200 of them are public officials who have been interdicted by the DPP
- They have also recovered over 30 billion shillings through the Plea bargain process of the DPP.
We have done a very good job and this we have been able to achieve because of the trust the public has in us.
The Unit is an agile one but with trinity of experiences from the military, police and lawyers from Justice Law and order sector.